There is no moonlight tonight
by ThurinRanger
Summary: When Eowyn loses a patient Faramir tries to comfort her using a story from his past. Rated T for mild romance and possibly depressing theme. Please review!


**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters.**

**Big thank you to Morwen80 and Frodo's sister for their supportive reviews of 'Estel the fabulous, King of everything'! **

**More reviews are welcome, but no flames please.**

The front door slammed, I glanced up.

Eowyn had been out much later than usual, so I had managed to stay awake reading after putting Elboron to bed.

"Darling?" I called inquiringly as I heard her stumble in the hall.

When she entered my study I noticed a disturbed look on her face.

"How was your day?"

"Fine."

I cleared my throat and glanced at her expectantly.

"Oh Faramir! I tried so hard to save him!" Her eyes filled as I eased her down into my lap.

"I'm sure if you couldn't save him, nobody could, love." I ran my hands through Eowyn's hair, tangled after her long, intense evening.

"And he was such a nice man! And his family! It was such a shock, no one saw it coming, they are all beside themselves!"

I felt her hot tears bleed through my shirt onto the skin on my shoulder.

She swallowed hard, and made an effort to wipe away her tears.

"It's been a long night, you need to get some rest."

"Your right." She took a deep breath and made her way out of the room determinedly.

I rose from my comfortable chair, stretched, yawned, and followed Eowyn to our chamber.

I woke up with a start.

Eowyn wasn't beside me.

"Eowyn?" I whispered softly as I fumbled with a candle.

"Here."

She sat on the window seat at the far side of the room, gazing out into the cold, dark night.

"What is the matter? Can't sleep?"

As the candle illuminated her face, I could see she'd been crying.

I carefully wiped the tears off her cheeks, causing her to turn away.

"Have you noticed, there is no moonlight tonight?" She mumbled shakily.

"Eowyn, can I tell you a story?"

"Why not."

I wrapped my arms around her and began: "You know about how my mother died when I was five?" She nodded.

I felt a deep pain in my chest as I went on.

"I couldn't believe it, ever since I had been born she had been weak and tired but I was too young to realize what was wrong. It was such a shock, so upsetting."

I squeezed Eowyn's hand hard.

"My life had been rather pleasant until then, but after she died father hated me even more than he had before. All I had left was Boromir, and he knew it. Boromir realized that he was the only beacon to help me through my grief.

When I would wake up in the middle of the night crying for her, he would get in bed with me and tell me it was all right, help me back to sleep.

He would stand up for me, he was always ready to help me back up from a fall.

He never let me see him cry, he always helped me to be brave."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and continued: "When mother died, I asked him:

'Boromir, why did she have to die? How could something like this happen? Couldn't I have done something?' and he told me this:

'Faramir, there's nothing you can do to stop death.

You can try to prevent it, though it will always come.

But you can seize life.

You can't stop a loved one's leaving, but you can love them, cherish them, and do your best to make them happy all the days you have them with you."

I wiped a stray tear on my sleeve.

"Boromir did that for me, and I tried to do that for him. That is what we all have to do for each other, it is what I try to do every day for Elboron, for my lovely wife, for my friends—"

I broke off, feeling unable to keep my voice steady.

"You have succeeded."

Her small voice broke through the darkness, and landed right on my heart.

"I love you." I mumbled as I kissed her golden hair.

"I love you too." She sighed softly as the moonlight poured through the clouds onto us.

"There is always moonlight somewhere, sometimes the clouds just hide it." I whispered and squeezed her tight.

"Daddy?" Elboron squeaked, hustling in, wrapped in a blanket.

"Are you alright honey?" Eowyn asked concernedly as the frightened little boy leapt into her lap.

"I had a bad dream, full of bad guys." He whimpered, snuggling in closer to his mother.

"Come on. Back to bed, I'll scare all those bad guys away." I growled, brandishing an imaginary sword before scooping my little son up and carrying him back to his chamber.

When I returned a little while later, after sitting on Elboron's bed to protect him from monsters for nearly half an hour, I found my wife sleeping soundly with a smile on her face, clutching my pillow tightly in her arms.

After a prolonged struggle with the sleeping but unrelenting warrior, I resigned to go to bed without a pillow.

**~Fin~**


End file.
